This invention relates generally to the field of methods and devices that are used to remove carbon dioxide from gas streams, and in particular relates to devices and methods for removing carbon dioxide from motor vehicle exhaust gases.
Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of hydrocarbon fuel combustion, such as the burning of gasoline to power motor vehicles. Carbon dioxide emission from motor vehicles is a major pollution problem and is considered to be a prime factor in global warming. Efforts have been made to eliminate or severely reduce the amount of carbon dioxide passing into the atmosphere, but to date such efforts have met with limited success. One approach in attacking the carbon dioxide emissions problem has been to provide a carbon dioxide absorbing filter as part of the motor vehicle exhaust assembly, typically by mounting the carbon dioxide filter to or within the exhaust pipe of the vehicle. A major problem with this attempted solution is that the devices are designed to absorb virtually all of the carbon dioxide produced in the combustion process, which usually results in excessive reduction of the exhaust flow, thereby impeding the efficiency of the motor.
It is an object of this invention to address the problem of carbon dioxide emissions by providing a device and method that removes only a minor amount of the carbon dioxide from the exhaust gas, such as less than about 20 percent, with the device structured such that the exhaust flow is not reduced and engine performance is not adversely affected. In this manner the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles is significantly reduced without encountering the problems associated with earlier solutions.